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Personally I think the Rift will have to integrate with other motion controllers to be properly amazing. That video of the Half Life 2 mod really blew me away, it has to be said.

I would be quite tempted to play something like Amnesia with this and the Razer Hydra. That could be pretty intense.

Then again, I'm not really sure why everyone is quite so excited about this. Is it not just sticking a screen right in front of your eyes? Why not just shove your face about against your monitor?

I just don't see this changing the way we play games or the types of games we are going to be able to play. To be honest, I find it very disappointing that this is getting so much attention from devs, when something like the Hydra or the PS Move are treated as very gimmicky and get zero support from anyone, even though they could be used to create games that are actually unique.

Trying to revive the thread...
So for me it's Mirror's edge, Arma2 and basically every game where you sit in a cockpit ;)

Originally Posted by Vandelay

Is it not just sticking a screen right in front of your eyes? Why not just shove your face about against your monitor?

Because: Occulus Rift tracks your heads orientation. So moving your head in the real world translates to a head movement in the game world. Kind of like TrackIR, but better, since you don't have to adjust your eyes again to look at the screen after you turn your head.

I'm also curious whether this would be allowed in competitive multiplayer games. It's unfair when you can peak around a corner while others without the Occulus can't...

The games I most want are already likely going to be supported, by either the Vireo Perception driver, or the devs themselves, so I can't wait to try them out:

-Mirror's Edge
-Minecraft
-Skyrim
-Star Citizen
-Portal

Originally Posted by Ernesto

I'm also curious whether this would be allowed in competitive multiplayer games. It's unfair when you can peak around a corner while others without the Occulus can't...

Using the rift's head tracking would mostly be a disadvantage in multiplayer shooters. I don't think that aiming with your head will ever be as accurate as pure mouse aiming. Now, if they figured out how to have eye tracking, and you could aim at something just by moving your eyes, that could be a very powerful control method.

I think it could work great for multiplayer shooters, but it would have to be games (or at least servers) that allow only that control method. If the playing field is even (input-wise) then it wouldn't be a disadvantage.

I think I could enjoy a game with head tracking for vision, but pointer aiming with a mouse within the current displayed view.

I'm really excited about what Oculus Rift could bring to gaming, but I think if it is properly advanced technology we should get some new games designed specifically for it, not just have some of it's functions wedged into games that were designed for monitors and mice/controllers.

I fear it may be like the Kinect. Some impressive tech we've never had before, but just used to play casual gimmicky games that show off the device's features but do nothing else.

1. Various flight sims
2. Various racing sims (though not being able to see your wheel would be a bit weird I think)

This so much. I play old stuff but rFactor for racing and Enemy Engaged: Comanche Hokum for flight would be just great. Or if we get some "this-gen" sims with OR support I just might start saving for a new setup.

edit: What game you would not play?
For me, no Dead Space. It's plenty immersive and scary already, thank you very much.

I just thought of another one (more of an emerging genre, though): Space Engine, Outerra and all those other procedural world generating things that seem to be all about exploring. That would be awesome.

Originally Posted by Vandelay

Then again, I'm not really sure why everyone is quite so excited about this. Is it not just sticking a screen right in front of your eyes? Why not just shove your face about against your monitor?

I just don't see this changing the way we play games or the types of games we are going to be able to play. To be honest, I find it very disappointing that this is getting so much attention from devs, when something like the Hydra or the PS Move are treated as very gimmicky and get zero support from anyone, even though they could be used to create games that are actually unique.

Well the difference is you have low latency, reliable head tracking which helps a great deal, anyone who has ever played Arma II with TrackIR would tell you what a big deal that is, except in this case you don't have to turn your head but fix your eyes on the spot; the displays move with you. They're stereoscopic 3D, they're a much smaller and easier to power (as in with graphics hardware) than a multi-monitor rig, they don't have the bezels and above all they'll probably be affordable.

There have been many failed attempts to make VR gaming a thing but they've always failed for various reasons. If the Rift is affordable and enough big devs get behind it and the basic features are implemented in the big engines (iD Tech, Unreal, Unity and CryEngine) we might see some really interesting stuff... Problem is, the best use I've seen for the Rift is when it's combined with other motion tracking peripherals like Sixense, WiiMotes and Kinect, like the Garry's Mod Kinect sensors and that guy who attached a Sixense controller to the back of the Rift so that it could track the position of your head in a 3D space, thereby allowing you to lean forwards to look out of a window and such. So I agree on your second point, but the Rift is just as important as the other motion controllers for them all to reach their full potential.

Now all we need is someone to come up with some sort of resistive glove so you can feel your in-game avatar picking up objects and touching stuff and a reasonably priced 2D treadmill...

Since my last post mentioned a racing game, I figured this was as good a place as any to post this: a video published couple of days ago, made by Racing Line Australia, of the Oculus Rift used in iRacing.

It seems quite impressive, and it certainly beats having to awkwardly position three or more monitors with big gaps in the vision due to the edges of the screen. But the lack of news about competing products makes me wonder if people inside the industry are seeing problems with the concept that we, or at least I, haven't. Even the 'racing cockpits', usually consisting of a seat and a bunch of tubes to which one can attach a pedal set and the wheel, are a market with half a dozen big players. Perhaps others are waiting to see how the Oculus Rift turns out, as it'll be easier to copy and easier to gauge the actual interest, but it still surprises me that we're not hearing much if anything from other companies.

Last edited by Tritagonist; 19-08-2013 at 03:08 PM.

"He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free". ~ Luke 4:18

You don't usually hear a lot about this type of still-in-prototype designs from large companies until it's about to be released, right? I think the difference might be how the Oculus Rift was funded and all. I'm reassured that Carmack has joined them, not because I'm confident of his abilities, but because there must be something truly interesting about the Oculus Rift to convince him to join them.

You don't usually hear a lot about this type of still-in-prototype designs from large companies until it's about to be released, right?

I suppose so, but since it's probably going to cost around the same as a basic monitor (I think they've mentioned it being, at least at first, in the $250-350 range) I imagine most people putting down that kind of cash will not be itching to upgrade to something else within a few months. If another company plans on putting a similar product on the market, I imagine they'd want to convince people their stuff is better before players commit to the Oculus Rift.

Originally Posted by Sparkasaurusmex

I'm reassured that Carmack has joined them, not because I'm confident of his abilities, but because there must be something truly interesting about the Oculus Rift to convince him to join them.

It's a big name, for sure. Like I said, I really do think that what we're seeing looks impressive. It just occurred to me as somewhat odd that we're not seeing others put their hand up, so to speak, since the response to the Oculus Rift has been about as uniformly positive as possible.

"He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free". ~ Luke 4:18